


Little Bat

by Dramatological



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Courtly Love, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramatological/pseuds/Dramatological
Summary: "Altruis," she said.  She hadn't known that was to be her answer, but as soon as she said it, she realized that was the only one she could give.  There couldn't be any other answer.  He was the only Illidari who knew she was a fraud.  He had to be the one, the hunter that could lead them once her failure was accepted by the others.A fictionalized retelling of the Illidari champion, and her champion -- the traitor to the Illidari.
Relationships: Altruis the Sufferer / Female Demon Hunter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. In which Telladi choses a Champion

**Author's Note:**

> Don't judge me. Rating and tags will change.

She had been prepared to sacrifice everything. That was the deal. She had signed up for it. Maybe losing her soul was a steep price to open a portal, but it hadn't even occurred to her not to do it. The deal had not been to kill other people, it had been to sacrifice herself.

But then it didn't work. Her soul hadn't gone anywhere, it had not blipped out of existence or been torn to shreds as she had thought. It just floated for a short bit, wandering in a monochrome landscape, then went right back into her body. She couldn't sacrifice everything. She couldn't hold up her end of the bargain. 

So they put her in charge. 

It was insanity. Her inability to perform her function did not, in any way, make her qualified to perform more functions. She hadn't thought about it, at the time. There had been a job to do, there hadn't been time for thought or reflection or wisdom. Only the endless, relentless drive to kill, to move, to spread the torn and tattered wings the demons had given her, perchance to fly. 

But then all she had was time. Time to think, to reflect, to go a little crazy, locked inside her own crystal prison. Was that wisdom? Going a little crazy? She didn't know, and it didn't seem the sort of thing you asked Maiev. 

She stared into the waters, the hazy image of her lord reflected, superimposed over her own far more delicate features. He couldn't sacrifice everything, either. He also had an immortal soul. Neither of them could ever truly die. So… we put him in charge? No, that was simplistic and disingenuous. And far too close to the truth to make her comfortable. 

"You will have to choose one of them," Kor'vas reminded her in a long-suffering sigh. 

She shouldn't be choosing anything. She should be dead. She should have upheld her end of the bargain. She wanted to scream at them. Why couldn't they see that she was a failed demon hunter? Why did they keep asking her to decide things? 

Telladi tore her eyes away from the image of her lord… of the lord… of Illidan, and turned around to face the two men, having stopped shouting now, to settle into a silent battle of stares and weaponized hatred. 

Kayn had Illidan's horns, almost making up for the height difference between him and the relatively towering night elf. His sheer righteousness filled in for the rest. Altruis was, by comparison, almost entirely unconcerned with Kayn. He was staring -- suspiciously? -- at her. He didn't trust her to lead a dance. 

"Altruis," she said. She hadn't known that was to be her answer, but as soon as she said it, she realized that was the only one she could give. There couldn't be any other answer. He was the only demon hunter who knew she was a fraud. He had to be the one, the hunter that could lead them once her failure was accepted by the others. 

Kayn turned to stare at her as well, now both men giving her their full attention. One shocked, the other thoughtful. It took all of her willpower not to lower her gaze, duck her head, bow to their superior wisdom. 

"Tell?" Kayn looked like he wasn't sure who she was, anymore. Like he didn't remember training her to use the torn wings dragging at her shoulder blades. Only a moment, then his expression hardened and he shook his head, "You would choose the traitor. There is nothing more I can do, here." With that he turned and walked away. 

Kor'vas just stared at her for a moment before shrugging and gathering the rest of the hunters to move onward. No one even questioned her. Not even the traitor, and it was assumed he would question Elune herself. 

"We should go, we don't have much time," he said to her as the other hunters left them behind in the great room. He was barefoot, wearing nothing but the long hide kilt the druids wore, before the demons came. Had he been a druid, before? Telladi wondered, absurdly, if vests and shoes were some of the sacrifices he had made. 

"Are you listening, little bat?" 

She blinked, realizing suddenly that she had been staring at the man's feet while he was trying to get her moving. She had spent too long lost in her own thoughts, it was difficult to find her way back out. He was holding out a hand, inches from grabbing her arm, "Yes," she answered, slipping past his touch and pulling the glaives off her back. It was just as easy to lose herself in battle.


	2. In which Telladi procures Weapons

Telladi only remembered flashes of the battle, bits and pieces, blood and rage. This was not uncommon -- when her blood rose, she danced with the demon instead of controlling it. The roar of combat was a force of nature, flooding into her senses, sweeping her up with the tide only to catch her in the undertow and drag her down into the silent depths.

She came to holding the warglaives, the frustration of a stolen hunt curling her lips into a snarl she couldn't control, and the traitor standing just out of her reach, watching her silently. She stared back, fingers twitching, panting raggedly at the man while the fury receded, the ringing in her ears quieted, the blood tinge to her vision lifted. Eventually, she let her arms fall to her sides, the weapons she had fought so hard for forgotten. 

"Lyanna? Illysanna?" 

He shook his head and her jaw tightened. Two more had died, following her into battle. Somehow, she kept skirting past, breaking the rules, and others died in her place. She may as well line her comrades up against a wall and slit their throats herself. 

She flinched back from the feeling of tears suddenly soaking her blindfold and pouring down her cheeks, ducking her head and lifted a hand to scrub them away with the back of her wrist. She didn't deserve to cry for them. She had sacrificed them. 

Telladi ignored the urge to turn away from the demon hunter, to hide this sign of weakness. It didn't matter that he saw it. He already knew she was weak, this was just more confirmation. That he had not, yet, removed her from leadership was down to the fact that she followed his orders unquestioningly. He had denied Illidan himself, it was only a matter of time before he denied her, too. He was likely just waiting for the other hunters to realize that he was the real leadership, and she -- simply a soldier who couldn't die. 

She looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks to find him watching her, again, just as silent, the blindfold shielding her from his sight, though she felt him mark the tears, and saw the lowering of his eyebrows. Yes. It would be soon, now, she just had to hold on a little while longer and he would take these weapons from her. She exhaled in a sudden sigh of relief and went about cleaning her own blood off the precious warglaives and storing them carefully. He would want her to keep them in good condition for him. 

"We have clear skies between here and Dalaran," he said, as if nothing had just happened. He never phrased his order as orders. He stated facts which he expected her to act on. That was an order to climb onto the felbat he had brought for her and return to the city. 

Telladi resisted following it for a moment, and he didn't seem inclined to rush her. His arms dangled loosely at his sides, one of his shoulders rolling, thickly corded muscles working underneath the dusky flesh. Though, to be honest, she'd never seen him do anything that wasn't loose and graceful, like a cat. Even with those massive blades in his hands, he looked closer to napping than he did killing things. 

She didn't want to face the others, yet, have to watch their eyes look behind her for a couple of friends that wouldn't be returning, feel the silent judgement in their eyes. It was peaceful, here. Absurdly so, with the blood and gore of countless demons strewn about, collapsed in piles where she had left them. 

"Do you think I could get a kilt? They look comfortable," she said, to fill the silence. 

Altruis' head tilted and she felt his gaze move down to her bare shoulders and arms. She looked down at her hands. The skin had blackened, and not the beautiful bronze-toned color some of the humans sported, but a burnt wood color, the soft flesh given over to scales in places. Her fingers were longer, now, and her nails thickened into claws. She was more harpy than elf, now, since the demons. 

"I'll see to it, personally," he said. She looked up, her eyes narrowing. Was that a smile? She couldn't be sure. Whatever the expression was it was there, then gone again, like mist. 

She nearly winced. Now the man would be forced to buy clothing for her like a common servant, just to keep up appearances they both knew were fraudulent, "No! No, of course not --" she started before he raised a hand, cutting off her protests. 

"Be still, little bat. I won't make you model them for me," he answered, and now she was sure, he was definitely smiling. He was poking fun at her, with the toy nickname. 

She wasn't sure how to feel about that. None of the others had ever given her a name other than a simple shortening of her given name, even before they decided they should start calling her "hero" and "champion." 

"I'll head back. There's been news on our forces left on Mardum," he stated, breaking into her thoughts. He swung up onto the back of his own felbat and settled himself before looking back at her. He paused, as if considering saying something then simply shook his head and finished with, "I'll meet you back in the city." 

With a gust of air from the great wings pushing them up into the sky, he took off, leaving the little bat alone with her thoughts.


End file.
